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Ike Guide
Hi all. I didn’t see a comprehensive matchup guide for Ike anywhere so I decided to make my own. First, a quick note about me: I've been playing Smash since 64 and competitively since Brawl. Recently I peaked at 3.6M GSP in Elite Smash with Ike (53% win rate over 350+ matches).
This is 21 pages long and over 13,000 words so it’s obviously not meant to be read like a book (use Ctrl+F to find who you want to know about). You should use this guide more as a reference if you’re having problems with a certain matchup or just want to watch Ike against a certain character without scouring through YouTube. I just want this guide to be the best it can be so any criticism or discussion is certainly welcome. I posted a link to a VOD of the matchup and I tried to find the most skilled players I could but obviously some videos will be higher quality than others (I couldn’t find a good VOD for Ike vs Robin or Ike vs Game & Watch so if you find one please link it in the thread and I’ll add it to the guide). First some definitions for those of you who may not know.
Neutral – The state of the match where neither fighter is off stage in the ‘recovering’ mode.
Recovering – When Ike is knocked off-stage and attempting to recover back on stage.
Edge-Guarding – When Ike’s opponent is knocked off stage and Ike is attempting to stop them from grabbing the ledge.
Edge-Trapping – When Ike’s opponent has grabbed the ledge and is attempting to get up.
If you'd like to watch a video on how to play Ike in general, this is the best Ike tutorial I've found. Other content creators might be better known but Jtails I've found is the best teacher because he scaffolds your learning (learn this easy step, then learn this harder step using what you just learned, etc). And he gives you specific drills to practice to actually get better instead of just mindlessly listing combos you can do with Ike.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y7S-8R_MivU
Changelog:
2/2/19 - Published Guide (Missing VODs for G&W and Robin)
Matchups:
Mario – 25/75 Mario’s favor - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hdHoZ7tLgUM
Mario is absolutely terrifying for Ike. As you’ll see in the video the Ike player switches to Richter in the third game because he’s realizing how one-sided this matchup is. First of all, you’re heavy so he can juggle you with up tilts and up airs at low percents, if he gets a hold of you his aerials come out so fast you’ll have a very hard time getting away. Secondly, Mario is one of the best characters to edge-guard Ike. Fireballs can mess you up and cause you to SD, and if he has FLUDD charged it can ruin either of your recovery abilities. So when you find yourself off-stage, air-dodging to the ledge is your best bet. If you know you’ll have to deal with FLUDD do everything you can do sweet spot to the ledge with Aether so it’s harder for him to knock you away with the water. If you can get him off stage mix up your edge-guarding as much as you can, drop off Fair can work but watch out for his cape, drop off counter can also work but make sure you time it right or you’ll get stage spiked. Eruption at the ledge is hard to time right but you can attempt it, and you can also try down-tilts and short hop down airs.
Donkey Kong – 60/40 Ike’s favor. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=soDW0PjHHYQ
DK is a good matchup for Ike, you outrange him in the air, a lot of your combos are easy to hit and guaranteed because of his size, and his recovery is very predictable. In neutral try to stay in the air to make it hard for him to grab you, he has some nasty grab combos. Stay in his face and keep the pressure up so he doesn’t have time to charge his punch. Always be ready for his back air when he gets you in kill range, it’s his fastest kill option. When recovering, side-B or air-dodge directly to the ledge when you can. If he follows you off stage he’s either looking for a Fair spike or a back air so be ready. While edge-guarding him, drop off counter works well if he’s coming from the side (if he’s coming from below your counter might not reach him even if you time it right). If he’s coming from below down tilt can work or even a short hop down air. If you decide to channel eruption make sure you do it at the very edge of the stage, you can actually reach him with it before he can hit you with his Up-B if you time it right. If you’re edge-trapping him stand farther back than you think you need to, his getup attack has a huge range.
Link – 40/60 Link’s favor - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8PwA1_iblcs
Link has the edge here in my opinion because his projectiles make it very hard for you to approach and they’re also extremely good at edge-guarding you. Most Links won’t use the arrows that much on stage so in the neutral phase you’ll be dealing with the bombs and boomerangs primarily. As you’ll see Salem do in the video, the bomb can be manipulated with his boomerang, his own attacks, and simply throwing or dropping it, so keeping track of where the bomb is at all times is critical. Approach with caution and try to parry when you can. Once you get into melee range you have better range than his melee attacks so use that to your advantage to string together some aerials. If you keep the pressure up he won’t have much time to harass you with his ranged arsenal. When you’re off stage, watch out for arrows, they can easily ruin your recovery attempts. Quick draw high when you can and when you have to Aether try your best to dodge the bomb he’ll inevitably try to drop on you. Edge-guarding him is imperative, you’re much better than he is off stage when he’s on the defensive. Fall off Fairs, fall off counters, and tilting at the ledge are all good options. Don’t bother channeling eruption he’ll just hit you with a boomerang or something. Edge-trapping is also a very good option for you in this matchup, mix it up with aerials and tilts to keep him off-stage.
Samus + Dark Samus – 55/45 Ike’s favor - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kS29bdU_T3I
On paper this looks like it’d be a tough matchup for Ike due to her projectile spam but the projectiles are pretty slow – both in time to shoot and trajectory speed, so as Ike you’re fast enough in the air to approach before she’ll be able to shoot too many missiles. Watch out for her Fair, it has great range, priority and it kills with the last hitbox. Get her above you; she doesn’t have too many good options for attacking someone below her and your Uair kills her early. While recovering side-B high to dodge the projectiles and if you must Aether sweet spot that ledge so you don’t get ruined by a stupid little non-charged energy shot. She’s pretty floaty but it is very possible to edge-guard her, try drop off Fairs or a short hop down air, don’t bother with eruption she’ll just get a free hit on you with a projectile.
Yoshi – 50/50 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-t5WnfDMUo
Yoshi is a very even matchup for Ike. He has a ton of out of shield options for when you inevitably Nair his shield. The most potent of these is his short hop Nair, it comes out super-fast, has a great hitbox, good knock back if he sweet spots it and good combo potential if he sour spots it. He is also really floaty while doing this, letting him get behind you even if you shield it so you can’t counter attack him. When recovering watch out for his eggs, they can definitely gimp you. Yoshi I think is one of the few characters where recovering with Aether might actually be better than quick draw, if you fast fall below the stage it’s very hard for him to hit you with an egg or a Fair spike, whereas if you charge up quick draw he can easily hit you with an egg, potentially taking your stock. Don’t bother trying to edge-guard him unless he really leaves himself open, you’ll most likely just get hit with an egg and even if you do hit him you’ll probably hit his super armor. Edge-trapping, on the other hand, can be very effective against Yoshi, F-tilts and short hop Fairs can keep him on the back foot.
Kirby 65/35 Ike’s favor – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q1x0-Ok7qjI
Kirby’s aerials are about the same speed as yours but with drastically less range. It’s very difficult for Kirby to approach Ike in neutral and not get hit by Nair. Kirby has a lot of options while edge-guarding you so be careful, you can try protecting yourself with a Fair if you have time and you’re going to want to use side-B to recover when possible. Kirby’s down-B special will go right through your Aether so watch out for that as well. Edge-guarding Kirby is very difficult because of his multiple jumps and general floatyness but you can try a jump or fall off Fair if you don’t think he’s suspecting it.
Fox 55/45 Ike’s favor - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lbA1vol8VcY
Ike has a good time against Fox, Fox does have some good combos at low percents but you have a ton of kill options against him and a superb edge-guarding game. In neutral, make use of your massive sword to thwart his approaches, he’s extremely fast on the ground so don’t feel bad just spam those Nairs and Fairs. Hitting him with Uair can be difficult because he falls so fast so you might have better luck attempting to kill him off the side. When recovering he’ll probably either just pelt you with a few lasers or go for a drop off shine so sweet spot whichever recovery you have to use right to the ledge because a well-timed shine can definitely kill you. You have a lot of options for edge-guarding him, your down-tilt WILL hit him during his side-B recovery if you time it right, which leads into a Fair, and if he uses his Up-B you can go for a short hop Dair at the ledge or even a drop off counter.
Pikachu 40/60 Pikachu’s favor - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DTGs98-BqZU
The easier version of Pichu, much like Isabelle is to Villager for Ike. The matchup plays out a lot like Pichu except Pikachu is a tad slower and easier to hit. Use your F-tilt more than you normally would in this matchup; it swings at the perfect height if Pikachu is on the ground and has more range than nearly all of Pikachu’s attacks. The little mouse has a lot of good options for edge-guarding you, he can spam lightning projectiles at you, jump off and thunder, or fall off and Fair. Don’t commit to charging a quick draw until the last possible moment so you can hopefully see what his plan is for you and dodge it. When edge-guarding him an eruption at the ledge can work but the timing needs to be perfect, it’s less risky to go for a down tilt or a fall off Fair.
Luigi 60/40 Ike’s favor - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ziq2FGzggRI
Luigi is a much easier matchup for Ike than his brother. He does have some nasty combos at low percents but your Nair and Fair provide so much safety for you due to their range advantage over Luigi’s attacks. When recovering you pretty much only have to worry about fireballs, he might try to spike you with a Dair but that’s pretty risky for him. Sweet spot the ledge whichever recovery you use so that a fireball doesn’t gimp you and he can’t catch you with a smash attack. Fall off Fair works exceedingly well against him if he’s recovering horizontally. If he’s coming at you from below a short hop down air or down tilt at the ledge is your best bet. Eruption can also work if he’s not expecting it but it’s a bit more dangerous.
Ness 65/35 Ike’s favor - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PzLd4UjVw60
Ness has a bit of a difficult time against Ike, his non-special moves have a limited range and he’s not that fast so as Ike you can dominate him if you don’t get hit by PK fires and combed. Jump over the PK fires and watch out for his dash attack, that’s the one attack that actually does have decent range. When recovering he can be annoying if he sends his PK Thunder after you, it can kill when you’re above 150% or so. If you’re having issues with it try air dodging in weird directions when it comes at you, you have a pretty big window to punish Ness if you can get to him while he’s channeling but be careful he doesn’t loop it back around and hit himself with it when you’re not expecting it. If he sends his PK Thunder after you while you’re recovering try fast falling and then Aether up to the ledge, quick draw will leave you open on the stage even if you dodge the PK Thunder with it. I’m a huge fan of the drop off counter against Ness if he’s forced to use PK Thunder to recover himself, just don’t screw up the timing whatever you do.
Captain Falcon – 55/45 Ike’s favor. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a-j_gWFvQ28
El capitan is very good in Ultimate, but not quite up to melee level. He’s extremely fast both on the ground and in the air and because of this he has a great grab game. Try to stay airborne as much as possible to counter this, and block his approaches with Nairs and Fairs, just be careful you don’t get too predictable. While recovering side-B or air dodge to the ledge, don’t try to recover high, because of his speed a good Falcon will be able to set up a hard hitting attack to meet you where you’ll land. Be very careful edge-guarding Falcon, if he lands his Up-B on you it can easily stage-spike you for a KO. That being said, if you’re unpredictable sometimes you can catch him with a drop off Fair, or you can channel eruption for a safer possibility. Falcon has a lot of good options for getting back on stage after grabbing the ledge so just hang back the first few times he grabs the ledge to see what he does, if he gets into a habit you can exploit it.
Jigglypuff – 55/45 Ike’s favor. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gcblv_cbZKw&t=21s (Jiggz match starts at 4:45)
Jiggz is vastly improved from her Sm4sh iteration but not quite melee level. She’s very light and dies extremely early to your up-airs, up-tilts, f-tilts, and back-airs. In neutral, spam Nairs to make it hard for her to approach and watch out that pound doesn’t destroy your shield. When she gets you off stage she’s the most dangerous because she can gimp you very easily, mix up your recoveries to keep her guessing and don’t use your double jump too soon, it’s extremely valuable in this matchup. It’s virtually impossible to edge-guard Jiggz so I usually just wait for her to come back. While edge-trapping be wary of her ledge-sing tech (Grabbing the ledge cancels the remaining pulses of her Sing up-B ability).
Peach + Daisy – 55/45 Ike’s favor - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aW6rI81bAL0
Peach and Daisy are very good characters with many tier lists placing them high or top tier, but Ike does well in this matchup due to the range of his attacks and his kill power. Your Uair beats almost anything she can do when she’s above you so get her up there with Nair or throws and get those early kills. Off stage you’re at a massive disadvantage because she can easily gimp you with a vegetable when you’re trying to recover with quick draw so recover high. It’s almost impossible to edge-guard Peach or Daisy when they’re off stage because of their floating, so just stay on stage and play it safe. If she pulls a Mr. Saturn remember that if it hits your shield it instantly breaks it.
Bowser – 55/45 Ike’s favor - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xkVzAtSv62o (Ike match starts at 11:15)
With Bowser being the heaviest character in the game, expect to take him to 150%+ in a lot of stocks before you can actually kill him. He has an up throw Nair combo that works at low percents and does about 40% if he lands all the hits, and his Fair has a frightening amount of range and power behind it. His side-B also kills pretty early, especially if he can dunk you onto a platform with it and it’s a grab so you can’t shield it. Being a heavy character, a lot of your low percent combos work very well, Nair into grab, Nair into up-tilt, etc. Be careful going for an Up-air, his down-B and Dair attacks both have a tremendous amount of power and priority behind them, so you might be better off going for a Bair or F-tilt kill confirm. While recovering mind his flame breath, it probably won’t kill you but it can rack up a ton of damage if you’re stuck off stage when you get caught in it. Use quick draw to recover high if he starts using flame breath to edge-guard you. He may also attempt a fall off Fair so be ready for that. When edge-guarding him fall off Fair, fall off counter, and Eruption at the ledge are all great options.
Ice Climbers – 60/40 Ike’s favor - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9-OiAFqFTJ8
The Ice Climbers can certainly be annoying for Ike but you can kill them so early because of how light they are, and most of your sword attacks swing in a wide arc so it makes it easier to hit both of them. Grabbing them is difficult because if you grab Nana instead of Popo your opponent can easily punish you. If you get them separated and can attack Nana without fear of Popo coming to her rescue go for it. If you kill her then Popo’s recovery and attack power will be severely diminished until the next stock. When recovering quick draw high to dodge their icicles and frost wind abilities, those abilities can make it very difficult to recover with Aether. Once you get them off stage you can follow them off and go for a Fair because it out-ranges their hammer-spin attack but don’t bother trying anything at the ledge, they have a super long tether recovery.
Sheik – 65/35 Ike’s favor - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jjx-th3ya2w (Sheik match starts at 3:23)
Sheik will have no problem racking you up to 100%+ damage but she doesn’t have a lot of kill options so it’s hard for her to convert that damage into actual stocks unless she gimps you or Fair spams you off stage. You kill her very early and vastly out-range her. When recovering just don’t get hit by the needles, either quick draw high or fast fall and sweet spot Aether to the ledge. She may try to use down-B to pursue you off-stage, it’s an arcing jump with a kick at the end and it is one of her few kill moves so be prepared for that. It’s tough to edge-guard her cause she’s very fast in the air and has multiple recovery options but a surprise drop off Fair can catch her out if she’s not expecting it.
Zelda – 60/40 Ike’s favor - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kcvpg4qaH3k
You out-range Zelda’s non-special attacks so approach quickly and confidently. She can do a surprising amount of damage with her new down-B and din’s fire from afar so stay on her and keep up the pressure. Nair into Uair or Bair is your best kill confirm against her and you can kill her pretty early. When recovering remember that the down-B soldier spawn attack goes VERY far in front of her if she fully channels it, also Din’s fire is controllable and it will kill you if you’re at a high percentage. So recover high with quick draw or fast fall and Aether under her soldier to the ledge. When she’s off stage it’s difficult to edge-guard her, her teleport does have a decent attack when she re-appears which can kill you. If you think she might try to kill you by teleporting onto you from off stage you can go for a counter but most will probably just go for the ledge. Edge-trapping is very good against her, short hop Fairs and F-tilts can keep her off stage.
Dr. Mario – 60/40 Ike’s favor – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XdcGfARCtxg
Dr. Mario is a lot easier than uneducated Mario for Ike. Pill spam is annoying but you can get past it, you have much more range than he does in the air and once you get some momentum it’s hard for him to stop you. While recovering side-B high like you should against anyone with a projectile. If you have to use Aether watch out for those pills and his Fair spikes just like Mario’s so expect that if he follows you off stage. When edge-guarding him almost any of your bread and butter choices can work, down tilt at the ledge, channel eruption, drop off counter and drop off Fair are all good options, just be sure to mix it up. For edge-trapping, you can use your Nair, Fair, or try to catch him with an f-tilt or up smash.
Pichu – 30/70 Pichu’s favor - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1S731U-C1BM
Pichu is just a really good character in general and can zero-to-death combo you if you’re not careful. The little mouse is extremely small and hard to hit but can die very early if you can manage to hit it. Don’t get frustrated if you get sucked into a nasty combo, with a few well-placed hits you can take a stock right back. When recovering Pichu can shoot the electric projectile at you or try to hit you with Thunder by waiting at the ledge or even jumping off and using it. And remember, the hitbox for Thunder extends very high above Pichu so sometimes recovering high is not the best option in this matchup. If you get Pichu off stage, you can try for an eruption, or a drop off Fair if he’s using the headbutt move to recover. This matchup more than any other is about keeping a level head and a good mentality.
Falco – 40/60 Falco’s favor - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9CIIb5Oap8U
Falco is extremely mobile in the air and also has a super annoying laser to gimp you off-stage but this matchup is doable if you space your aerials well and get him above you or off-stage. You’ll have to approach to get him to stop lasering you and when he commits to fighting you with his feathers you can start using retreating short hop Fairs to keep him on his toes (talons?). Recover very high to dodge the laser spam when you can or if you can’t do that then fast fall below and sweet spot Aether to the ledge. His Dair also spikes so be aware of that. If you get him off stage your D-tilt is your go-to move here if you can time it to block his side-B recovery attempts. If he’s coming up with his Up-B you can try a short hop Dair.
Marth + Lucina – 40/60 Marth/Lucina’s favor - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T7KqdNkkfEk
A good ol’ Fire Emblem matchup; Marth/Lucina has the advantage in this matchup because they’re faster than Ike with very similar range and there’s a massive recovery discrepancy which I’ll go over below. Their U-tilt ruins our approach and starts some nasty combos for them, if you start to get juggled air dodge and get back to the ground ASAP. Your Nair is your best attack option for getting out of juggles and that is way too slow so just focus on getting back on solid ground instead of counter attacking. When recovering you want to be extremely careful about getting countered, always quick draw when you can and make sure to do so at different heights throughout the match so it’s tough for them to set up a counter. If you have to Aether a good Marth/Lucina will counter that every time and if you’ve used your double jump already you’re a dead man. It’s hard to do the same to them when they’re off stage because their Up-B is so much faster than Ike’s so a drop off counter is very risky. You can go for a drop off or jump off Fair if they’re coming in at the right angle but your safest edge-guarding option is gonna be staying at the ledge and going for a well-timed down tilt or short hop Dair.
Young Link 40/60 Young Link’s favor - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OiTMpR7B6b4 (Young Link match starts at 3:25)
This matchup plays out very similar to Link, the difference is Young Link can shoot his arrows much faster than Link so you’ll have to deal with bombs, arrows, AND boomerangs while trying to approach. Your shield health is incredibly important in this matchup, parry his projectiles whenever you can and if you can’t then watch your shield and make sure it doesn’t get too small. You can catch his bombs but these are normal bombs that will detonate after a few seconds, not remote detonation ones like Link so keep that in mind. His projectiles start all kinds of combos for him so you’ll have to carefully weave through them to get to your Nair range. When recovering always quick draw high because a well-placed arrow will easily destroy your recovery. Never Aether unless you have to, a good Young Link will simply drop a bomb on you for free damage. If you must Aether, sweet spot the ledge. Once you get him off stage you have a lot of options, fall off Fairs, drop off counters, and d-tilts at the ledge all work well but remember he can also use his grappling hook to tether to the ledge.
Ganondorf - 45-55 Ganondorf’s favor https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T5GGANI8wb8
A very skill based matchup; both characters are actually quite similar in weight and playstyle. Ganon gets a slight edge because of how good his up-air is against you, it has great range and comes out much faster than your Nair so he can ruin a lot of your approaches with it. Watch out for his Down-B, it comes out quickly and does a lot of damage if he hits it. His major weakness is his recovery, but it’s risky to contest it in the air because you might get hit by his Up-B and stage spiked just like Captain Falcon, so it’s better to simply stay on stage and wait for him with a down tilt. When recovering make sure you sweet spot the ledge every time, he’ll most likely use his up-tilt (massive dropkick that pulls you in) or a smash attack to edge-trap you, don’t be afraid to drop off the ledge to stall and mess up his timing.
Mewtwo – 55/45 Ike’s favor - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ZdoN4AE4Dw (Match starts at 3:50)
Mewtwo has almost as much range as you on some of his tail attacks and he’s deceptively fast in the air. He also has a great edge-guarding game against you but he has a large hitbox and a light weight class which means he’s very easy to hit and you will kill him early. Get in quick so you don’t give him time to charge his shadow ball, but watch out for his disable attack (stuns you briefly if he lands it but you have to be looking at him). Go high when recovering to dodge his shadow ball and if you can’t go high Aether right to the ledge. He’s floaty and has a great teleport recovery so edge-guarding him is very hard, d-tilt at the ledge is your safest option. Another note about this matchup, he actually goes invisible when he air-dodges which is really annoying because you can’t immediately see which direction he air-dodges in.
Roy + Chrom – 40/60 Roy + Chrom’s favor - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4uMsvAYh1tc
This matchup plays out similar to Marth/Lucina. He’s much faster than you so you can wait for him to approach you with Nairs and retreating Fairs or just shield his approach and punish with a grab combo. When recovering you’re vulnerable to getting countered so quick draw at different heights throughout the match to keep him guessing and don’t use Aether to recover unless you have to, a good Roy/Chrom will counter that every time and you’ll be dead. For Roy, when he’s recovering it is possible to catch him with a drop off counter but it’s risky, a safer option is d-tilt at the ledge. For Chrom, counter at the ledge is a very good option and you might score an easy kill if you can time it right. Fall off or jump off Fair is hard to hit because he flies so fast through the air. Another note on Chrom, they did just nerf his “Chromicide” ability where he Up-B’s you off stage and you die first, now Chrom will die first if he does that.
Mr. Game and Watch – 55/45 Ike’s favor. [I can’t find a good VOD of this matchup]
G&W has a lot of solid aerials in ultimate, combined with his edge-guarding and above average recovery this becomes a pretty close matchup. He’s faster than you in the air but you out-range him so use that to your advantage. Try to send him above you so you can go for an early up-air kill. While recovering always side-B high when you can, if you’re recovering low he can just spam sausages or drop a bomb on you and screw up your Aether so be prepared for that. Edge-guarding him is hard I usually just try for a down-tilt as he comes to the ledge. Edge-trapping is much easier you can try an up smash, short hop Fairs or you might even catch him with an f-tilt as he gets up.
Meta Knight – 55/45 Ike’s favor - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9UbrIonOcw8
The terror of Brawl is back in Ultimate but not quite as dominant as he was back in 2008. Meta Knight has very quick aerials but his actual speed through the air is pretty slow and you out-range the crap out of him with your aerials. Watch out for his dash attack when he’s approaching, he’s pretty speedy on the ground and it combos into a ton of stuff. Try to stay below him if you can, his Uair juggles are nuts when combined with his multiple jumps and you don’t have anything fast enough to break that combo so just air dodge back to the stage as soon as you can. Be careful when you’re a good distance above him, his Up-B causes him to fly up in a loop and will kill you so don’t get complacent just because he’s far away from you. When recovering you should actually use Aether over quick draw, it’s much easier for him to punish your quick draw compared to Aether. When you get him off stage don’t try any edge-guarding, he has multiple jumps and multiple special moves he can use to recover, all of which will do damage to you if you attempt an edge-guard.
Pit + Dark Pit 40/60 Pit + Dark Pit’s favor - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wgQSaWyHryA
Pit is incredibly annoying for Ike to deal with; a fast controllable projectile combined with comboing aerials and super quick smash attacks makes this a tough matchup for you. You have to approach quickly or risk getting poked down by arrows, just make sure you don’t run right into one of his aerials. His Fair can combo into itself as he pushes you off stage with it so try to time your air dodge to stop the bleeding and get back on stage. When recovering be sure to quick draw above him, this way a well-placed arrow won’t kill you, but instead will simply do a bit of damage. When edge-guarding you can try following him off the stage with a Fair but because of Pit’s aerial mobility and A+ recovery this won’t usually work. Edge-trapping is a much more reliable for you than edge guarding in this matchup so focus on keeping him off stage with tilts and short hop aerials rather than following him off stage.
Zero Suit Samus 35/65 ZSS’s favor - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pHKEaCNg0RY
ZSS is extremely irritating for Ike. She has a small hitbox, is very fast on the ground and in the air, a projectile that stuns you, and a perfect answer to your Aether recovery. In neutral, use a healthy dose of Nairs to keep her from zipping around everywhere and watch her projectile, she can charge it and it’ll do more damage and stun longer if it’s charged but she can’t store the charge like Samus, she has to fire it right away. Don’t get flustered by her speed and just keep calm and Nair on (should get that on a t-shirt). When recovering always quick draw high both to dodge her projectile and to avoid having to use Aether. If you must Aether, make sure to get as close as possible to the ledge, she can snag you with her whip from a safe distance if you come up above the ledge even a little bit. Be careful following her off stage when you knock her off, she has a vault-type recovery similar to Sheik’s except it’ll spike you so you’re better off waiting for her on stage.
Wario – 50/50. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sdwGzYf0CqI
A good Wario can be very annoying to deal with. He’s deceptively quick in the air and his aerials come out a lot faster than yours. In neutral try to keep him at bay with a healthy dose of Nairs, if you find yourself above him, try to make it back to the stage, his up-air is extremely fast and strong. While recovering use side-B when you can, if you think he might try to throw his bike at you you can try to time Aether so the super armor protects you (but watch out, his down air beats your Aether if he times it right). Edge-guarding Wario is very difficult because he’s so nimble in the air. A drop off Fair is risky so I’ll usually just hang out on the stage and try to catch him with a down tilt or f-tilt. Edge-trapping Wario can be good for Ike here, try to time a Fair to hit him as he gets up.
Snake – 40/60 – Snake’s favor - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Sx5PZPLk3w
Snake is a real pain for Ike, his grenades make spamming your Nair dangerous, he can kill you pretty early with tilts and his edge-guarding game is fantastic. In neutral pay close attention to exactly what Snake is doing at all times, especially where his grenades and C4 are. You can catch the grenades and throw them back but they’re on a fairly short timer. You’ll also take damage if you get hit by the grenade before it explodes. When you get him above you he might try to drop a C4 on you so watch for his little crouch animation and you can also listen for a click sound that he makes when he plants it. When you’re recovering quick draw very high if you can, he’ll usually send out his controllable missile which is a huge pain because if it doesn’t outright hit you, it’s an attackable projectile so you’ll swing at it with your quick draw, potentially ruining your recovery. When he’s off-stage be very aggressive jumping off after him with Dairs and Fairs, his recovery is very predictable and punishable (just remember the helicopter thing can hit you once he lets go of it).
Ike – 50/50 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tEqy6gBGXPw
The mirror match is such a manly clash of titans. Remember that whoever jumps first is gonna have the advantage so if your opponent jumps first it’s better to just stay on the ground and punish after blocking his aerial. When recovering quick draw high to dodge a counter. If you have to use Aether, sweet spot the ledge so that he can’t counter you; then, when he’s off-stage jump or fall off Fairs work well, in addition to counters against his recoveries if you can time it right.
Pokemon Trainer (Squirtle) – 30/70 Squirtle’s favor https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lHM-D8jGpig
Squirtle is super aggravating in general, and especially to Ike. He’s like an obnoxious love child of Mario and Pichu; he has the crazy low percentage combos of Pichu plus the water shooting nightmare of Mario. Down tilts are good against him because of how small he is and he’ll usually stay on the ground until he gets his combo started with a grab. Space him with Fairs and Nairs and be aggressive once you get him above you. When you’re off stage, quick draw high so that hopefully water gun doesn’t screw you up and if you have to Aether get it right to the ledge.
Pokemon Trainer (Ivysaur) – 40/60 Ivysaur’s favor https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ufw5WMQzFWc
Ivysaur is a little easier than Squirtle, he’s larger and slower than his water type companion which can leave him open for your Nair combos. He does have a very good amount of range on his aerials however, and can attack you at odd angles so you should be creative and varied with your approaches. Also, watch out for his projectile, even though it looks like it might have a boomerang effect it does not come back. When recovering quick draw high due to the leaf projectile, and mind his Dair - it can spike you. Once you get him off stage don’t be aggressive with edge-guarding, he can throw his leaf at you and he has a tether recovery with a great amount of range, just wait for him to come back and ledge-trap him.
Pokemon Trainer (Charizard) – 60/40 – Ike’s favor https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NPr00w7_tuU
The best pokemon for Ike, he’s much larger and easier to hit than the other two and his recoveries are exploitable. He has great range on a lot of his attacks so try to get in close and string together some aerials. Quick draw high above him when recovering otherwise you risk taking a lot of damage or even dying to his flame breath. Once you get him off stage he can either go low and recover upwards with his Up-B or use Flare Blitz (his side-B) to make a massively powerful and fast horizontal recovery. Flare Blitz will make a distinctive sound right before he uses it and it will kill you early if it hits, but it also does damage to Charizard. If you think your opponent might use this to recover you can get in its path and counter for enormous damage.
Pokemon Trainer (General Notes)
The trainer’s rotation goes Squirtle > Ivysaur > Charizard so he can never go from Squirtle straight to Charizard and he can’t go Ivysaur to Squirtle. A lot of Pokemon trainer players will switch pokemon while off stage to change their recovery options. If you knock Ivysaur off too far, they might switch to Charizard and go for a Flare Blitz recovery so always keep in the back of your mind which pokemon can come out next and how to adjust your playstyle accordingly. They will also automatically switch to the next pokemon when they lose a stock. (I found 3 VODs for this matchup in no particular order considering how Pokemon trainer works as a character)
Diddy – 40/60 Diddy’s favor - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FdUWaq-zmNg
Diddy is so frustrating to play against. He has very quick aerials and is fast in the air on top of that. In addition to his speed you always need to be worried about where the banana is, try to grab it by using an aerial or air-dodge near it and throw it back at him. The color of the little arrow above the banana tells you whose it is, and you won’t slip on your own banana. The banana will be owned by whoever last threw it. When recovering make sure to quick draw above the stage so that you can dodge either the banana or a peanut gun shot, either of which can interrupt your recovery and take your stock. Edge-guarding is difficult, he has a chargeable Up-B that can be released whenever he wants to, so it’s hard to time a Fair or counter off stage, better to wait on stage and try to get that down-tilt.
Lucas – 40/60 - Lucas’s favor. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I4wq1es4HHY
Lucas is quick in the air, has annoying projectiles, can space you in the air with his snake, and has tons of options for edge-guarding you. You can win, however, if you stay in his face, keep up the pressure, and land those up-air kill confirms. Mind his aerial snake when you’re approaching, it can reach you outside of your Nair hitbox. Jump over his PK fires and get into melee range as soon as possible. You want to stay in that sweet spot where you outrange his own aerials and ground attacks but you’re too close for him to safely PK fire you. While recovering he can either try to PK freeze you, PK fire you, or send his PK thunder after you so it’s kind of a nightmare. Of the 3, PK Freeze is probably the easiest to dodge but if it hits you you’re definitely dead. Mix up your recoveries here, side-B high the first time, then fast-fall Aether next time, etc. Don’t let him get into an edge-guarding rhythm. Oh, and his back air spikes so watch out for that. While edge-guarding him you have some options, I’m a big fan of the drop off counter here if you see him start that PK thunder, just make sure you time it right. Eruption at the ledge or a drop off Fair can also work. Edge trapping is tough because his double jump is so potent but Fairs and tilts can work.
Sonic – 45/55 Sonic’s favor - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VV45RxJgJto
Sonic is the fastest character in the game on the ground so it can be difficult to get your sword up in time to stop his approaches. Retreating Fairs work well against him and don’t forget about counter, it can make him think twice about spamming spin attacks. If you shield his spin attack you can do a quick short hop Bair out of shield to punish him. While recovering quick draw high because his Up-B produces a little spring and it can drop on you and ruin your Aether. When you get him off stage he’ll usually have to recover straight up, so you can try d-tilt, Eruption, or short hop Dairs at the ledge.
King Dedede – 55/45 Ike’s favor. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fryI3QMOe8o (Ike match starts at 7:40)
DDD can be bothersome to deal with, but if you take advantage of the fact that you’re much faster than him in the air you can come out on top. In neutral watch out for his gordo attack and also when he spits it out. You can attack the gordo to send it back at DDD and it can damage him if it hits him. He outranges you on the ground so try to approach him quickly through the air. Nair into grab is very reliable at low percents against him. Be extremely careful when edge-guarding, he can suck you up while falling and spit you out under the stage. When recovering keep an eye on the gordo if he decides to use that, if he chases you off stage you can try to ward him off with a Fair or a counter if you’re high enough, if you have to recover low make sure to sweet spot Aether to the ledge so the gordo has a low chance to catch you.
Olimar – 40/60 Olimar’s favor - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pZhM9FQw9jQ
Olimar is very hard to hit with that tiny little body he has, but when you do hit him you’ll kill him early. Approach swiftly; don’t let him build up damage by throwing his pikmin at you. If you have a pikmin attached to you doing damage you can do an aerial to knock it off (this will also kill it and force Olimar to have to pluck another one out of the ground to replace it). Get him above you with Nairs and throws and go for those Uair kill confirms early, he doesn’t really have an answer to your Uair when he’s above you. Recovering is very difficult against Olimar, if he hits you with a purple pikmin it’ll knock you out of your quick draw or Aether, and if you have a pikmin eating you your quick draw won’t go anywhere cause it’ll hit the pikmin. Pay attention to which color pikmin Olimar is going to throw next (the only ones you need to know are the fat purple ones have knock back if he throws it at you, and the white ghost pikmin do the most damage (and fly the farthest) if they attach to you). Olimar’s pikmin will actually grow stronger if they survive during the match, you’ll see the leaf on their head turn into a bud and then a flower. The flower pikmin will do the most damage so make sure you’re killing his pikmin so that he doesn’t have a bunch of flower pikmin ready to tear you to shreds. When edge-guarding him his new Up-B causes him to kind of fly around for a bit so if he comes in at a horizontal angle you can definitely go for a drop off Fair. One final note on Olimar, his down-special (pikmin call) will actually grant him super armor for a second, so don’t be surprised if that happens.
Lucario – 60/40 Ike’s favor - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jHEXUyYTU9I
You really out-range almost all of Lucario’s attacks, and he’s not that much faster than you so this is a pretty good matchup. Vary the speed of your attacks if he starts using his counter, if you bait it out it’s very punishable. Stay on him and keep the pressure up so he doesn’t have time to charge his Aura Sphere. If he gets you off stage, quick draw high to dodge the shadow ball. Using Aether to recover is terrible in this matchup, not only can he hit you with a well-timed Aura Sphere, he can also use his counter to knock you back off-stage. Once he’s recovering be super aggressive with jump and fall off Fairs, his Up-B has a little delay to it at the beginning and he can direct its angle but most Lucarios will go straight at the ledge so you can exploit this.
R.O.B – 40/60 R.O.B’s favor - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i4l8_Jv7HQI
ROB has a ton of tools to make Ike’s life miserable. The laser and spinning top make approaching awkward for you, his recovery is fantastic which makes it very hard to edge-guard him, and he matches your range in the air. One thing you have going for you in this matchup is his large hitbox and generally light weight, which makes him easy to hit and KO. Approach fast, his top will stay on the stage longer and do more damage if he has more time to charge it. You can pick up the top and throw it back at him but if you walk too close to it when it’s spinning on the stage it’ll just damage you so I usually just try to leave it alone. Recovering against ROB will probably give you PTSD, both his top and laser can shoot you out of quick draw or Aether so quick draw high and then at random heights to throw him off. Additionally, his Dair can spike you straight out of Aether because it has so much range. Furthermore, edge-guarding ROB is basically impossible, he’s floaty so he can protect himself with lasers or spinning tops as he falls and then he has a very controllable Up-B recovery that allows him to pretty much fly around wherever he wants.
Toon Link – 40/60 Toon Link’s favor - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=07iqeBe3pB4
This matchup plays out very similar to Young Link. They both have the same projectiles, the main difference is Toon Link’s projectiles are more floaty (just like himself), his bombs and arrows stay out longer and are lighter, and his boomerang goes further and slower than Young Links’ but otherwise they’re almost identical. Approach rapidly so he can’t whittle you down with his projectiles and parry his projectiles when you can to keep your shield healthy. Recover high with side-B so the projectiles don’t interrupt you and if you have to Aether watch out for the bombs. For edge-guarding him, jump off Fairs work decently well just watch out if he has a bomb in his pocket. Drop off counters can also work against him.
Wolf – 50/50 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cNlcebZ79_Q
Wolf has some nasty combos; his aerials come out much faster than yours, and he can camp you with his blaster, but he dies early to you and doesn’t have a lot of good options if you get him above you. Stay in his face and don’t let him blaster spam you. Fast, reliable attacks are your friends here, down tilts, jabs, and Nairs. If he starts to juggle you with up-airs try to air dodge back to the ground as soon as you can, you’ll never pull out your own aerial or counter fast enough to break his combo. While recovering mind the blaster, side-B high if you can (but watch out for his up smash), if you have to recover low make sure to sweet spot Aether to the ledge so he can’t hit you with his blaster. Edge-guarding Wolf is difficult because of his multiple recovery options, plus if his side-B sweet spots you it’s a spike so I’ve found its best not to mess around with following him off the stage and better to wait on stage with an eruption or a down tilt. Edge-trapping is also problematic because he can use any of the normal getup methods or a drop off side-B and try to sweet spot you with it. Play it safe the first few times you get him on the ledge and see if he has a habit you can work around.
Villager 20/80 Villager’s favor – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RyjCIMjP8eg
A good Villager is truly terrifying for Ike, and one of his worst matchups. Not only is he small and hard to hit but he’ll constantly be spamming his Fairs and Bairs (he shoots a small pellet through the air) it doesn’t do a lot of damage (4%-6% per hit) but they sure do add up because he can shoot them so quickly. Additionally, they can combo into his gyro special which is a delayed projectile that shoots slowly across the screen and blows up if it hits you. His ridiculously fast projectile spam makes it incredibly hard to approach unless you’re a god at parrying. And once he gets you off stage your woes continue, the aforementioned pellets of doom interrupt your quick draw recovery which can spell a tilting early death, and if you try to recover with Aether from below his F-smash will obliterate you (he drops a bowling ball that falls down on you). If you do manage to get him off stage be ready to block the incoming projectiles and maybe go for a short hop down air or down-tilt if he’s recovering from below, anything else is too risky. Try your best to get him above you, your up-air kills him very early and he has fewer options vertically than he does horizontally. If you can, pick the smallest stage you can find, and ban the larger stages.
Mega Man - 30/70 Mega Man’s favor - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ru2H50AC4mw
Mega Man is a huge pain for Ike, his Bair and leaf shield do some good work negating our Nair approaches, and we have to approach fast because if we don’t we’ll get pummeled by 500 energy shots. Small stages are your friend here, give him less horizontal space to work with and you’ll have a better time. Quick note: If he lands his sticky bomb you can actually use counter to negate the damage from it when it’s about to go off. You can also simply shield when it’s about to go off and if Mega Man is nearby he’ll take damage from it. Recovering against Mega Man is like navigating a brutal maze of death. He’s got sticky bombs, a projectile down-air that spikes, a ranged F-Smash, oh and if you recover high he’s got an up-air that sends a tornado up to get you (and if it doesn’t do damage it can actually change the trajectory of your quick draw and may cause you to completely miss the stage and die off the other side). Mix up your recovery methods so he doesn’t get comfortable, every time you get back to stage safely should be considered a major victory. Edge guarding him is almost as hard as recovering yourself is, short hop down airs at the ledge are probably your best bet here. Edge trapping is where you can try to do some damage, F-tilts, U-tilts, and Fairs will keep him on his toes as he tries to get up.
Wii Fit Trainer 60/40 Ike’s favor - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fgkcnxxkMIE
In neutral your aerials outrange the trainer’s and Wii Fit Trainer has average speed, so with proper spacing you can make it very hard for a WFT to get inside the range of your Nair. While recovering remember to use your Side-B to recover high when possible so WFT can’t snipe you with projectiles. While edge-guarding you can either channel Eruption from the ledge, drop off Fair, or go for a down tilt from the ledge. Just be aware that they can use either the soccer ball or energy projectile to block your edge-guarding attempts. For edge-trapping you can either try to time an aerial to hit as they get up, try an up-smash, or if they’re just hanging onto the ledge you can up tilt at the ledge which will cause a stage spike.
Rosalina & Luma – 70/30 Ike’s favor - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LCIKCFKX760
Luma is its own character much like Nana of the Ice Climbers, it can be KOed like a normal fighter which will severely hamper Rosalina’s attacks. Luma will respawn in a minute or so after it’s KOed or when Rosalina herself is KOed. Most of your aerials will also hit Luma if they hit Rosalina and this can cause them to be separated. If you have a spare second go ahead and hit Luma to try to knock it off stage, but don’t leave yourself vulnerable to Rosalina. You have a lot of range advantage over her normal attacks so space your Nairs properly and you’ll be able to rack up some damage on her. When recovering she may chase you off stage and go for a Fair, it’s her best aerial and it’ll kill you so fast fall Aether if you have to to dodge it. She also has a special attack that sends out a few mini stars from Luma which will also interrupt your recoveries. When she’s off stage a surprise fall off Fair works well but don’t do it every time. Your safer option is a d-tilt at the ledge – her recovery is very good.
Little Mac – 55/45 Ike’s favor. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g37QYYseJEE
Little Mac is extremely fast and powerful on the ground, but you completely dominate him in the air. Get him above you and get him off stage. Stay mobile and make good use of counter, if you counter one of his strong hits you can easily do 30+ damage, and it’s easy for Little Macs to attack in rhythm which leaves them open to a good counter. When recovering he’ll likely try to snag you with a smash attack at the ledge instead of jumping off after you so just make sure you sweet spot your recovery to the ledge every time. When edge guarding him you need to be very aggressive, jump off and Fair or jump off and counter, he’s out of his comfort zone out there so you need to punish him (however, realize when he can’t make it back and don’t needlessly take damage from his Up-B when he’s gonna die anyway). When edge-trapping him he’s more likely to roll up from the ledge or attack from the ledge than other characters so keep this in mind, f-tilts, aerials, and maybe even an up-smash work well here.
Greninja – 60/40 Ike’s favor - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7e3iF7fZZ50
Greninja is a fast little bugger but you severely out-range him and your Uair kills him at very low percents. Keep moving and jumping and use Nairs and Fairs to get some momentum. Don’t let him charge his projectile; it’ll make it a lot worse for you later on. Mix up the speed and rhythm of your attacks so you don’t get caught by his counter. He also has a special move where he jumps out of his shadow, so watch the ground for that and stay away or give him a counter of your own. When you’re recovering stay high with quick draw to dodge his ice projectile. Once he’s off-stage wait for him on stage with a d-tilt, and once he expects that of you, do a fall off Fair to surprise him.
Mii Brawler 75/25 Ike’s favor – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gHz_zdhX_qQ
Mii Brawler is just not a very good character in general. Brawler’s aerials are quick but have very limited range, as Ike you SIGNIFICANTLY out-range Brawler. Just make good use of your aerial combos here, and retreating Fairs are especially good in this matchup because it can easily catch them as they try to approach you. Brawler does have a projectile they can throw out (like a shotput type ball thing). It doesn’t go very far but it does decent damage and knockback so watch out for that when recovering. When edge-guarding MB has a recovery similar to Sheik’s down-B so jumping or fall off Fairs work well. Tilts are your friend when edge-trapping, your F-tilt has way more range than MB’s get up attack.
Mii Swordfighter – 40/60 Mii Swordfighter’s favor. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HuSMEe_qUb0
I actually think Mii Swordfighter is an underrated character; he’s deceptively fast and has a good amount of projectile and kill options. Watch out for the long range chakram and wind attacks he can throw out, he’ll spam them at you all day unless you find a way to quickly approach. Like most characters, you out-range him in the air but he’s so quick that you need to be very clean with your aerials by not wasting any moves. When recovering use side-B high above the stage if you can to dodge his inevitable projectile spam and if you have to Aether make sure it sweet spots the ledge. When edge-guarding him a drop off counter can work well with proper timing but don’t try it repeatedly. And while edge-trapping give him a few steps of space so you can impose your range on him.
Mii Gunner 60/40 Ike’s favor - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-g66eolaCnw (match starts at 4:50)
The Mii Gunner is a weird combination of a lot of projectile based characters. They have a medium ranged fire plume attack very similar to Simon and Richter’s, a charge shot very similar to Samus/Dark Samus, and a recovery kind of like Diddy’s. Their projectiles are fairly slow compared to other characters, so it’s not too difficult to approach and get in your comfort zone (pick a small stage if you can to help with this). Watch out for their Uair and F-smash attacks, they fire out energy bullets that shoot a fair distance above and in front of them respectively and both attacks can kill. Other than that, your melee attacks are vastly superior to theirs so as long as you don’t get camped this matchup is pretty easy for Ike. When recovering quick draw high to dodge the projectiles and if you have to Aether make sure you sweet spot to the ledge so they can’t hit you with their F-smash or projectiles. MG’s recovery shoots them up with an explosion, but compared to recoveries from the rest of the cast it’s not that great. You can go for jump off Fairs, fall off Fairs, or d-tilts and Dairs at the ledge once you get them off-stage.
Palutena 55/45 Ike’s favor – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tf4Zuk9wBlQ
Palutena has a lot of tools that are effective against Ike but your massive sword will kill her very early, especially with Uair. Palutena has a ranged targeting shot that fires a few projectiles at you as well as a fire attack similar to Zelda’s Din’s fire except she can’t control it. The fire attack will kill you and is an excellent edge-guarding option against you. If you manage to shield her Nair hold down that shield button for a long time, her Nair stays out FOREVER. Focus on getting her above you and killing with Uair, her good options decrease drastically when she’s above you. If she knocks you off the stage use quick draw high (very high) above her to dodge the targeting projectiles, the fire, and the U-smash which has some crazy vertical range. She also has a counter ability similar to yours so avoid using Aether unless absolutely necessary. When you bounce her off the stage, she’ll use a teleport recovery similar to Mewtwo’s, you can either stay at the ledge and go for d-tilts and short hop Dairs or you can even jump off after her and go for a Fair (although that is more risky).
Pac-Man –60/40 Ike’s favor https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YUjfHeRV4bs
Pac-Man is a good matchup for you if you space your aerials properly, Pac-Man’s aerials are fast but they don’t have nearly the range that yours do. Keep an eye out for which power-up he pulls out, they each do different things, the only thing you really need to know as the Ike player is that the key will do a lot of damage and kill you at high percent, and the bell will stun you for a second. When recovering watch out for his hydrant, if he uses it in the air it’ll drop straight down so air dodge to the ledge when you can. Pac-Man’s recovery is ridiculous, he can recover from extremely far away, but you can see where he’s about to go so if your timing is good you can drop off and Fair him or short hop down air at the ledge. Edge-trapping isn’t too hard against him, mix it up with tilts and aerials each time and watch out for one of his quick aerials as he gets up.
Robin – 55/45 Ike’s favor. [Can’t find any good VODs of this matchup]
The Robin matchup is very skill-based. He/she has multiple projectiles to keep you at bay, but you beat him/her if you can get up close and personal. Watch out for his/her thunder and fire attacks as you stay airborne while approaching. His/her aerials are fast but you severely out-range him/her so take advantage of that. Another quick note with Robin, you can keep track of the durability left on his/her special attacks with the meter down near his/her percentage, once one runs out he/she can’t use it again for a while or until death. Recover high when you can just like when you’re against any other character with projectiles. When edge-guarding watch out for a long-range lightning attack from off stage if it’s charged up, otherwise you can try down-tilting at the ledge, short hop down-airing, or a drop off Fair if his/her trajectory calls for it.
Shulk 60/40 Ike’s favor – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XtpGAhG1PH4
Shulk is a swordsman like yourself and matches you for range on a lot of attacks, you are stronger though and can kill him very early, especially if he has certain Monado Arts equipped which we’ll go over below. Shulk’s B is Monado Art; he can choose one of 5 effects that alter his character during the battle. Jump increases his jump height but decreases his defense. Speed increases his run speed but reduces his attack power and jump height. Shield increases his defense and weight while reducing his attack power and run speed. Buster increases his attack while lowering his defense and launch power. And finally Smash increases his launch power while reducing his attack power and launch resistance. Once he selects one, you’ll see a small meter down by his percentage, once it runs out his stats will return to normal and he can’t repeatedly select the same Art. Shulk’s aerials are very good and rival yours so get in his face and keep the pressure up so it’s hard for him to switch to whatever Monado Art he wants. As you’ll notice in the video when Ike grabs Shulk at 3:17 when he has the Shield Art equipped a down throw chain grab might be possible as long as he has his Shield art on (NEED TO TEST THIS). Shulk does have a counter attack he can use against our recovery options so keep that in mind when you recover, usually its best to go right to the ledge. When you knock him off you can channel Eruption at the ledge, jump or fall off and Fair him or D-tilt at the ledge. If you decide to go off stage after him for a Fair keep in mind a lot of Shulk’s will switch to the Jump Art which increases the height of their double jump a lot.
Bowser Jr. 60/40 Ike’s favor – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D742GKAewHw
You can actually pick up their mecha-koopa and throw it back at them. If their mecha-koopa reaches the end of a platform it will turn around and go back the other way. He also has a cannonball projectile that moves slow but is spammable. If you can get in close without taking too much damage from his projectiles you’ll be golden. He doesn’t have a lot of options when he’s above you so aggressively pursue up-air juggle opportunities. Side-B high above him during recovery in order to dodge the cannonballs. Bowser Jr’s recovery is actually very good, he can side-B for horizontal and then up-B for vertical recovery and he can do them both without touching the ground. So for edge-guarding him I’d recommend sticking with a down-tilt at the ledge or a short hop down air at the ledge, anything else is too risky or has a low chance of success.
Duck Hunt 55/45 Ike’s favor – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8VjELDF8dY8 (He switches to Inkling for the 2nd game but then he goes back to Duck Hunt for the 3rd)
Duck Hunt is a very weird character with strange projectiles. First, he can spawn a can of explosive...stuff? If he activates it again it’ll get shot by some mysterious bullet and move. Once either enough time has passed or enough damage has been dealt to the can, it’ll explode (this can kill you but not until about 180%+). He can also spawn a...I’m gonna say villain. His eyes shine after a second and then he’ll shoot his gun straight towards you (this can also detonate his can). If you attack the villain before he shoots he’ll get perturbed and de-spawn without firing his gun. He also has a Frisbee type projectile that does damage to you multiple times if it hits you. If you’re able to successfully weave through all those obnoxious projectiles you have a distinct advantage in melee range. Nair him relentlessly and get him above you, Uair confirms kills very early against him and he doesn’t have many good options when he’s above you. When recovering quick draw high to dodge the projectile spam, and mind his can, if you hit it with quick draw you’ll swing your sword at it and cancel your sideways momentum (also the can will probably explode). He basically flies around for his recovery – it’s very good – so just wait for him on stage with a d-tilt or a short hop Dair. If you try to channel eruption he’ll just hit you with a projectile.
Ryu + Ken – 55/45 Ike’s favor – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1BNzWTryJec
The Street Fighter duo is a pretty even matchup for Ike. You out-range them (except for Shoryuken) but they’re faster than you in terms of when their attacks come out. The key is to get in range for your Nairs (without getting hit by Shoryuken) but not close enough that they can hit you with their fists. When recovering quick draw high to dodge the Shoryuken. If you get him off-stage it’s dangerous to stand at the ledge because his Up-B will hit you through the stage as he grabs the ledge so your best bet is either to channel Eruption a few steps from the ledge to edge-trap him with it or jump off and Fair him if he’s coming in more horizontally.
Cloud – 40/60 Cloud’s favor. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zwOVsshM0fM
Cloud is a tough matchup for Ike in my opinion. He’s just as good as you are in the air, is faster on the ground, and has a very potent projectile. In neutral get in his face and use your quick attacks to keep up the pressure so he can’t camp you with his projectile attack or charge his limit break. Don’t underestimate counter here if you see him get into a rhythm. I like to start countering more when his meter is charged just to make him second guess himself before unleashing one of his upgraded special moves. While recovering side-B high to dodge his projectile while also keeping an eye out for his Fair - it spikes. When edge-guarding you can stand at the ledge and time a counter to hit him as he comes up or channel eruption from a few steps back. You can even drop off Fair if you don’t think he’s expecting it. Be cautious when edge-trapping, he has a lot of good options for getting up, you should find success if you space your tilts well.
Corrin – 40/60 Corrin’s favor - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g7XoQXUuvDA
Corrin matches your range in the air, gets most attacks out faster than you, and has a projectile and counter to ruin your recoveries. Try not to get juggled, get back to the ground quick if you find yourself above him/her. His/her projectile is good but it’s not spammable so you shouldn’t have too much trouble getting in melee range. When recovering watch out for both his/her stunning projectile and the counter, so quick draw above him/her or air dodge to the ledge when you can. When you get him/her off stage eruption at the ledge is a fantastic option, if you position correctly and time it well you can catch him/her right before the ledge grab.
Bayonetta – 60/40 Ike’s favor - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7q1QiQkfqzw
Bayonetta racks up a ton of damage very quickly against you with her crazy aerial combos, but she has a distinct lack of options to actually take your stock. You, on the other hand, kill her very early with Bair and Uair so the damage you manage to get on her means a lot more than the damage she gets on you. This is another matchup where a level head is very important; her seemingly endless aerial combos can be very annoying. Just remember she’ll most likely need to take you to at least 150% every time to actually take your stock. When recovering mind her foot bullets, if she charges them they’ll do more damage and knockback (they also fire at an upwards angle) so either quick draw above it or fast fall below and Aether. When edge-guarding her, a d-tilt at the ledge is your best and safest option, this can lead into Fair and Bair kill confirms.
Inkling – 55/45 Ike’s favor - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yto_JrDoVWw
Inkling is a great character, very high on most tier lists; she has quick aerials, an incredible dash dance game, a damage multiplier mechanic, and an above average recovery. You out-range her in the air though, so keep her at the tip of your sword to make it difficult for her to counter your approach. Be careful if she starts combo-ing you with aerials, you can very easily get juggled all the way off-stage so hold onto your double jump or you’ll be a dead man. When recovering just keep an eye out for her paint bombs, they move through the air slowly so you shouldn’t have too much trouble dodging them. When you get her off stage your best bets are eruption at the ledge or short hop down air.
Ridley – 45/55 Ridley’s favor - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vuxajj_VW6s
Ridley is a deceptively fast heavy character who will give you nightmares if you don’t recover properly against him. Ridley has a large grab range and can combo down throw into his Nair so stay airborne and mobile to make it hard for him to grab you. Speaking of his Nair, his comes out faster than yours and has almost as much range so you might need to get a little creative with your approaches, mixing in full hops with the short hops, fast falling then not fast falling, etc. Recovering is very important against Ridley, he can easily gimp you with his flames. Make sure to recover high above him when you can and if you have to Aether try to sweet spot the ledge and be ready to spam it as the flames continuously interrupt you. Edge-guarding him is difficult, he has multiple jumps and recovery methods, so just play it safe and stay on the stage with a d-tilt. Edge-trapping is much easier, mix up your options to keep him guessing.
Simon + Richter – 40/60 Simon/Richter’s favor - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QNYspnsIyW8
Simon and Richter both have such a ridiculous projectile and camping game it makes it really hard to get in range to do anything as Ike. Pick the smallest stage you can and do your best to weave through the maze of boomerangs fire and axes to get to your target. The axe is the worst because it flies at the perfectly correct angle to thwart your aerial approaches, so you might want to stay on the ground more than you normally would in this matchup. The fire is actually a catchable projectile before it hits the ground so you can catch it and throw it back which makes the fire yours. Once you do get into melee range you need to make it count cause as soon as they knock you away with something its back to projectile spam. Recovering against them just sucks. You have to worry about the holy cross boomerang and the axe – which will kill you. Air-dodging to the ledge is your best option but if you can’t do that make sure to time your quick draw so you don’t dash straight into the axe. If you have to choose between the boomerang and the axe pick the boomerang, at least it won’t outright kill you. When you get them off-stage be aggressive with jump off Fairs but only if they’re at stage level or above (Note: Do the jump off Fair if they’re too far away to tether to the ledge with their whip, if you jump off and they tether they can easily turn it around on you). If they’re below the stage just stay put and go for a d-tilt at the ledge
King K Rool – 60/40 Ike’s favor - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_LjEmCUMwq4
The Donkey Kong villain has a lot of tricks up his sleeves but nothing you can’t handle. He has two projectiles, his crown which acts like a boomerang, and his blunderbuss which shoots a slow moving cannonball towards you. Once he shoots the cannonball his gun turns into a vacuum somehow and will suck up either you or his cannonball and relaunch it. He also has a super-armor mechanic on a lot of his moves, the dash attack and neutral air being the ones you’re most likely to actually hit him during. If you look closely you can see cracks start to appear on his breastplate after he makes use of the super armor a couple times. Once his breastplate fully breaks he’s stunned for a long time, just like if you broke his shield. It’s rare that that happens but just something to keep in mind. His projectiles are very slow so you shouldn’t have a problem closing the gap. Once you get in a lot of your moves are faster than his so take advantage to rack up some damage. Another thing to keep in mind is that if the crown doesn’t return to him it’ll become a throw-able item on the stage and K Rool won’t be able to throw his crown again until he retrieves it (or dies). You can try to use the crown against him or simply throw it off the side of the stage if you want. Don’t try to edge-guard him, you’ll either get hit with a crown, his propeller, or even worse – get sucked up by his gun as he falls and then get spat out under the stage. When you’re recovering quick draw high to dodge the cannonballs and crowns inevitably flying at you.
Isabelle – 45/55 Isabelle’s favor - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K3xZ1-Y9TY8
Similar to Villager, Isabelle will spam her Fairs at you to try to whittle you down, but this matchup is much easier than Villager because Isabelle plants her gyros in the ground instead of shooting them at you, so you only need to deal with one projectile in this matchup. Approach quickly and mix up your full hops and short hops so it’s harder for her to hit you. While recovering go above her with quick draw in order to dodge both the Fairs and the dreaded fishing rod. If she casts the rod off of the edge of the stage it drops a bit and can still catch you. When edge-guarding keep in mind she can grab the ledge with her fishing rod, but if she’s forced to use her balloons to recover you can attempt an Eruption right at the ledge which can catch her with the lower part of the hitbox. She doesn’t have many good options for getting back onto the stage so use tilts and aerials to trap her on the ledge.
Incineroar 65/35 Ike’s favor - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4uMsvAYh1tc (Incineroar match starts at 6:38)
Incineroar is a powerful character but he has a disadvantage against Ike because he lacks one of Ike’s main weaknesses – a projectile. Plus, he doesn’t have the range to match Ike in close quarters. Switch up your style during the match to throw him off, approach aggressively at first, then wait for him to come to you while using retreating Fairs in the next stock. When recovering, he might use a tilt or smash attack at the ledge or jump off and try to use an aerial against you. Use Aether or quick draw depending on how he decides to edge-guard you. When you get him off stage some Incineroar’s will attempt to hit you with the downward part of their Up-B as they come back onto the stage, if your opponent shows this tendency you can punish with a counter. If they’re off stage horizontally you can go for a jump off or fall off Fair. Incineroar’s recovery is not that great so try to recognize when he’s dead and don’t take unnecessary damage trying to edge-guard him.
Piranha Plant – 40/60 Piranha Plant’s favor - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-6K_HJCUKQ4
The newest addition to the Smash roster is here and he’s pretty good against Ike. He’s very quick in the air; he has a reliable spike, great recovery, a small hitbox, and a fantastic edge-guarding game. Approach the plant with caution, the spiky ball does a whopping 22% damage and will kill you at about 120%+. His poison cloud ability will do damage to you but it has no knockback, and you’ll take more damage if you stay in the center of the cloud. One more note on Piranha Plant, his D-special where he goes into his pipe and then pops out really far in a direction gives him super armor so don’t rush in to punish that. When recovering go high with quick draw so you don’t get hit by the spiky ball of doom. If you have to Aether try to time it so you get your super armor when the spiky ball hits you. Bonus note: Piranha Plant has a distinctly unusual ability in smash, if you footstool a crouching Piranha Plant he will bite you without any input needed from the player. If you get him off-stage Eruption, d-tilts, or short hop Dairs work great at the ledge and you can also fall off Fair since your Fair out-ranges the hitbox of his recovery.

I've been thinking about this for awhile as I have a love hate relationship with these, which has now changed to content with my analysis. Mainly due to from my knowledge no confirmed chance to get these units again, and how hard it is to summon them as f2p when you go for other banners. For example, I spent most of my orbs on Nohrian Summer and I got Celica instead of Summer Leo, who I could get on any other banner. My luck seems better on other banners, as I got 2 5 stars from Sacred Stones 1st time and 2 5 stars from Brave Heroes 1st time, one being Brave Lyn, my first alternate 5 star other than free Brave Lucina. You could argue I should save my orbs more, which now I may start doing after Brave heroes with my %4 rate. I'm going to go over the alternate units to see what ones are more replaceable than others. Heroes of the same weapon and movement type will be compared, so I wont be comparing Brave Lyn to Takumi or Bridal Cordelia. Fan service done right, at least maybe:
Spring Festival:
#2 Spring Chrom can hold his own in Atk and Def, but Raven is a great Brave Axe user with Hawkeye Chrom's resistant counterpart.
#3 Spring Lucina is just a more defensive blue mage which takes away from her Atk but has great Spd. Linde is better in most cases and Delthea is great support.
#4 Spring Xander has the highest Def of the lance horseman but lowest Atk. Great debuffer, buffer and using Bonfire but Clive is also defensive and Mathilda is the resistant counterpart.
#1 Spring Camilla is unrivaled on flier emblem being one of two magic users on a pegasus. Due to this she's almost mandatory to respond to defensive units.
Bridal Blessings:
#4 Bridal Caeda is a slightly better Spring Lucina with 1 more Spd and 5 more Res. Go Delthea/Linde.
#2 Bridal Lyn is one of the more versatile healers, stopping counter attacks with Dazzling Staff and Candlelight. Only bested by horse healers on horse emblem.
#3 Bridal Charlotte is a great for a infantry lance on the offensive, but Sharena is only 4 less Atk.
#1 Bridal Cordelia was considered the best archer before Brave Lyn (though that doesn't matter as they aren't the same movement type), but Innes is a better mage killer with 9 more Res 2 less Atk and 1 less Spd and works fine.
Ylissean Summer:
#3 Summer Robin (F) is Sharena with 7 more Res but 8 less HP. EIther work depending on what a team lacks.
#1 Summer Tiki is more defensive and resistant Spring Chrom. Another great choice like him.
#2 Summer Gaius is a slightly better Setsuna with 2 more Atk so good Quad.
#4 Summer Frederick is similar to other debuffers but with Seal Atk Spd with the 2nd highest Atk of the Ninjas. Won't enjoy a counter like Felicia or Saizo and Kagero is used a lot anyways.
Nohrian Summer:
#2 Summer Xander is better than Summer Tiki in HP and Def but bad Res. Barst is his counterpart, though infantry pulse makes him very useful.
#3 Summer Leo is similar to Sanaki and Katarina, though Katarina has better Spd. Leo can run Quick Riposte though and is the unit I wish I got ;-;.
#4 Summer Elise is the better variant of Nino with Gronblade (same Atk/Spd as Delthea, just not a better weapon to start with).
#1 Summer Corrin is a must for flier emblem with or without Spring Camilla, or just Spring Camilla. Can't be compared to anyone else sadly. Hoshidan Summer with Staff Male Corrin someday?
#3 Brave Lucina is a better Sharena with better buffing and Atk/Spd. Slightly less bulky.
#4 Brave Roy is closest to Cain and Seth with slightly less bulk for more Atk/Spd. Eldigan and Xander are the Def variants with less Spd.
#1 Brave Lyn is the only horse archer so similar to the flying mages is not comparable. Closest thing is Bridal Cordelia, then Innes.
#2 Brave Ike is in the end the better Bartre and somewhat the opposite of Anna.
So far, only Spring Camilla, Summer Corrin and Brave Lyn are unrivaled. Of course some of these units come with specific new skills but that doesn't mean their available versions are truly inferior. All units have their uses, even Wyrs... I hope this review eases the minds of those who missed out on these units like me or didn't get their +10 merged or optimal IV's. Leave your thoughts in the comments, and happy summoning!

Hi everyone, i'm new to Serenes Forest but have been on the Cipher discord.I have been playing Heroes since release and f2p. So far I have 25 five star heroes, with one being a duplicate Ninian. I also have been using Camus and Xander as four stars on my horse team. Here's the list:
Alfonse: Neutral
Marth: +Spd -Res
Saber: +Atk -Spd
Zephiel: Neutral
Young Tiki: +HP -Res
Celica: +Res -Def
Leo: +Res -Atk
Sharena: Neutral
Brave Lucina: Neutral Free Choice
Azura: Neutral
Effie: +Res -HP
Clive: Neutral
Mathilda: +HP -Res
Tana: +Atk -Spd
Hinoka: +Res -Def
Ninian: +Atk -Spd and +HP -Res
Delthea: +Atk -Def
Raven: +Spd -Res
Hawkeye: +Res -Atk
Hector: +Res -Atk
Nino: +Spd -HP
Takumi: +Res -Def
Brave Lyn: +Def -Atk
Maria: +HP -Atk (really only good for grinding, as well as my 1st 5 star summon)
Overall the only bad things about my selection is the number of blue units compared to others as well as some IV's. I'll throw out some of my ideas and see what everyone thinks:
Quadstrike Infantry Buffed
Raven, Brave Lucina, Delthea, Azura/Ninian
Pros: High Damage, Brave Lucina and Delthea can be good in battle as well
Cons: Low defense, someone will die in Arena
Tana or Dancer Armor Emblem
Tana or Ninian/Azura, Hector, Zephiel, Effie
Never tried this team out but could work, though Tana could die due to needing to fly ahead for Guidance.
Horse Emblem
Brave Lyn, Leo, Xander 4 star, Camus 4 star
I have the buffs they want, but upgrading them and getting Raurblade+ for Leo is 60k feathers though the regular version works fine. This team could survive with Xander and Leo defending, maybe Camus having Renewal and Reciprocal Aid for Quick Riposte Leo. I can level a Reinhardt but my 2 aren't +Atk.
Dragon Emblem
Young Tiki, 4 star Nowi, 4 star Fae, Ninian
Fortify Dagons sadly doesn't stack, but Ninian doesn't need the buff herself. My dragons don't have optimal IV's but would work. Renewal and Reciprocal Aid/Ardent Sacrifice?
Hone Nino
Nino, Alfonse, Sharena, Rallier
Focusing on Gronnblade+, Nino could be pretty impressive, but not a Cecelia on Horse Emblem
My Old Arena Team
Delthea, Hector, Azura, Yong Tiki, swap one for bonus unit
I lose against some Horse Emblem, especially Brave Lyn.
Overall i'm happy with my units and this has opened me up to choices I've never thought about. I've been wanting to use Leo since I got him early on but never did. Wish I got Summer Leo but Celica showed up instead. I'd love to hear everyone's suggestions and their own personal teams as well. :)

#1 Bayonetta (This post)
#2 Bowser
#3 Bowser Jr
#4 Captain Falcon
#5 Charizard
#6 Cloud
#7 Corrin
#8 Diddy Kong
#9 DK
#10 Duck Hunt
#11 Falco
#12 Fox
#13 Ganondorf
#14 Greninja
#15 Ike
#16 Jigglypuff
#17 King Dedede
#18 Kirby
#19 Link
#20 Little Mac
#21 Lucario
#22 Lucas
#23 Luigi
#24 Mario & Doc #25 Marth & Lucina
#26 Megaman #27 Metaknight #28 Mewtwo #29 Game&Watch
#30 Ness
#31 Olimar
#32 Pac-Man
#33 Palutena
#34 Peach
#35 Pikachu
Instead of votes, we'll go in alphabetical order, and the discussion will only be 1 or 2 days for each, 1.1.6 is the current patch so I hope you're all updated for this.
Which leads us off with Bayonetta
Kurogane hasn't updated her data
so go off this change list http://smashboards.com/threads/1-1-6-patch-notes-patch-discussion-read-the-first-post-before-replying.436806/
http://kuroganehammer.com/Smash4/Bayonetta for her general info
(Image Borrowed from Kurogane Hammer) for a quick visual
Bayonetta, the source of much infamy since her debut, having many aerial combos at launch, which could 0-death a significant chunk of the cast if they weren't careful, with several safe lead ins and decent range with her kicks, she was a force to be reckoned with by that alone, add in the dreaded witch time and the fact she has two spikes, and you're in some danger. She has fairly good damage capabilities as well.
As of 1.1.6 however she's received several nerfs, Including her hitboxes on several moves, her combo capabilities in general, which make her look rather lackluster currently as opposed to the supposed top tier threat she posed before hand. Now she has a fairly lacking neutral game, due to now having to rely on some of her slower moves, and her safer moves now are harder to land overall.
Whats everyone heres opinions on Bayo? Be it on a competitive or even casual standpoint?

So lately I've been getting into the competitive Super Smash Bros. community and that got me wondering about competitive Fire Emblem. I think the game mechanics and depth is there for an interesting meta game. Of course, this is not possible with the current entries in the series as only Shadow Dragon supports multiplayer and that game was not received very well, also nintendo wifi has also been shut down for the DS. So if this were to ever exist, it would have to be from a future entry in the series. If Fire Emblem did have a competitive community would you participate? Do you think Fire Emblem could be a competitively viable game? Just want to hear some other thoughts on this matter :)